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POULTRY 

CLUB 

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 20 

CONTRIBUTION FROM 
BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY 
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DIVISION 
WASHINGTON, D. C. r _ _ 




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COMMON POULTRY DISEASES. 



DISEASE is one of the handicaps to successful poultry keeping 
and should be guarded against at all times. Unless kept in a 
healthy condition, chicks will not grow properly and mature fowls 
will lose their vigor and vitality and become unproductive and un- 
profitable. 

It is far better to prevent disease by proper care and attention than 
to attempt to cure a bird after it is sick. Therefore it is important 
that you watch your flock closely at all times for any signs of disease, 
so in case an outbreak occurs it may be checked at once. Prevention 
is always better than cure, and all boys and girls who wish to succeed 
in poultry-club work should try to give their birds such good care 
and keep their houses so well cleaned and disinfected that both fowls 
and chicks will keep hardy and vigorous and allow no opportunity 
for sickness to creep in. 

Some diseases may be treated successfully, while others of a more 
serious nature usually prove fatal. However, if only one or two 
birds of a flock become sick it is usually advisable to kill them immedi- 
ately (unless they are choice specimens) and burn or bury the carcasses. 
If the birds are kept and an attempt is made to doctor or cure them 
the disease may prove contagious and spread throughout the entire 
flock. 

COMMON POULTRY DISEASES AND TREATMENT. 

The more common poultry diseases and those which poultry-club 
members are likely to find most troublesome are gapes (in young 
chicks), roup, chicken pox, and scaly leg. 

GAPES. 

This disease, which is quickly noticed because of the sneezing and 
gaping of the chick, affects only young chicks and young turkeys 
and usually develops during the first few weeks of their lives. It is 
caused by a little worm which attaches itself to the inside of the 
windpipe, where after a few days it will increase in numbers to such 
an extent as to obstruct or stop up the windpipe, making it difficult 
for the chick to breathe, and unless the worms are removed at once, 
it will soon strangle, choke, and die. The female worm produces 

3 



4 Department Circular 20, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

large quantities of eggs while in the windpipe, and these are thrown 
out by the chick in sneezing or are swallowed, pass through the intes- 
tines, and are scattered with the droppings. After a few days young 
worms will hatch from these eggs and will live in the earth for a long 
time. If picked up and swallowed by young chicks they quickly find 
their way to the windpipe, develop, and cause the disease to appear. 
This explains how infection is carried over from one year to another, 
and why ground used year after year becomes so infested or filled 
with these worms that chicks can not be raised upon it. 

Treatment. — Take a long hair from a horse's tail and twist 
the two ends together so as to form a loop. Hold the chick's head 
firmly with one hand, with the neck out straight, forcing the beak 
open with the fingers. When the glottis, which is the little opening 
at the root of the tongue, is open for breathing, insert the loop end 
of the hair, pressing it down the chick's windpipe about one inch. 
Give it 2 or 3 turns and then withdraw it, which will usually bring 
out several of the worms. Make sure that the hair is run down the 
windpipe and not down the chick's throat. Each time the hair may 
be inserted a little deeper until it reaches nearly the full length of the 
neck, extreme care being taken not to choke or injure the chick. All 
worms taken out should be shaken off the hair and scalded or burned. 

Prevention. — The best preventative for gapes is to keep the chicks 
on fresh, clean soil at all times. If they become affected with the 
disease remove them at once to fresh ground where there is plenty of 
green grass. Ground occupied by chicks affected with gapes should 
be covered with a thick coating of lime and then spaded up thoroughly 
or plowed to destroy any worms that may possibly exist. Chicks 
should not be raised on the same ground again for at least two seasons. 

ROUP. 

Roup is a disease which affects the eyes, nose and throat. The 
first signs are watery eyes, swollen eyelids, loss of appetite, and a thin, 
watery discharge from the nostrils; after a few days the discharge 
becomes thick and interferes with the bird's breathing. In severe 
cases the side of the bird's head is hot and badly swollen and the 
eyelids stuck together with a yellowish, cheesy substance. 

Roup frequently develops from a hard cold, but more often is 
brought into the flock through other birds that have had the disease 
or have been exposed to it. It is very contagious. The saliva or 
discharge from the mouth and nostrils carries the germs, and if the 
sick birds are allowed to remain or eat and drink with the others the 



Common Poultry .Diseases. 



disease will spread very quickly through the entire flock. Birds that 
are out of condition or lacking in vitality are usually the first ones to 
become affected and the last ones to recover, and sometimes carry 
and spread the disease for several months after they appear to be 
cured. 

Treatment. — The sick birds should be removed at once from the 
rest of the flock and put into warm, dry, quarters where there is 
plenty of fresh air but no drafts. Take some warm water, add a 
little salt (about one teaspoonful to a quart of water), and carefully 
wash the eyes and mouth, using a soft cloth or a piece of absorbent 
cotton. It is also well to rub or massage about the nostrils and under 
the eyes to loosen any of the watery discharge or secretion that may 
have accumulated there. After cleansing take two heaping teaspoon- 




Fig. 1. — (Left) Hen showing first stages of roup. The eye is swollen and watery and the eyelids 
closed. (Right) Hen showing advanced stages of roup. Eyes and head swollen, eyelids closed, 
and the bird weak and droopy from loss of appetite. 



fuls (one-half ounce) of boracic acid, or a small half teaspoonful (one 
dram) of permanganate of potash, which can be purchased at almost 
any drug store, to one pint of water and wash the eyes and mouth 
thoroughly; or dip the bird's head into a bowl of the solution, re- 
peating the treatment 2 or 3 times daily. A tablespoonful of peroxide 
of hydrogen mixed with two tablespoonfuls of water and injected 
into the bird's nostrils (see illustration on front cover) with a small 
oil can or medicine dropper is very beneficial. After the bird has been 
treated in this manner grease the head with camphorated oil or 
carbolated vaseline. It is also advisable to put a small quantity of 
permanganate of potash into the drinking water, as it helps to prevent 
the disease from spreading. In very severe cases it is best to kill the 
bird at once, as seldom, if ever, can it be fully and permanently cured. 



6 Department Circular 20, U. S. Depi. of Agriculture. 

Prevention. — Keep the house clean, well ventilated, and disinfected. 
Be sure that the birds are not exposed to draughts so as to catch cold. 
Fowls or chicks purchased from other breeders should be put into a 
separate house, or, if this is not possible, watch each specimen closely 
for 2 or 3 weeks for any signs of the disease so, if it appears, the bird 
may be removed before the others are affected. 

CHICKEN POX. 

Chicken pox (sometimes called sore head) is another very contagious 
disease. It makes its appearance in the form of irregular, whitish 
patches or festers which later develop into brown spots or crusts 
(resembling a scab of a sore) on the comb, wattles, eyelids, and around 
the beak and nostrils. In severe cases these patches or sores increase 
in numbers to such an extent that the bird has difficulty in opening 
the eyes and beak, and if neglected will be fatal to many. 

Treatment. — Apply a liberal quantity of carbolated vaseline to all 
the affected parts. This treatment, after a short time, will cause the 
patches or crusts to soften and drop off, when the tissue or sore 
underneath should be painted with tincture of iodine or 5 per cent 
solution of carbolic acid. Five pounds of fine-powdered sulphur 
mixed with each 100 pounds of dry mash will also be found beneficial 
in effecting a cure. As soon as the disease makes its appearance 
spray the houses and coops thoroughly with some good disinfectant 
(preferably some wood preservative or coal-tar preparation), and 
scald the drinking fountains and feed dishes thoroughly with boiling 
water. Repeat every 2 or 3 days until after all the birds have fully 
recovered. 

Prevention. — Keep all roosting quarters clean, dry, and well disin- 
fected. During the summer, when the disease is most common, mix 
3 pounds of powdered sulphur with each 100 pounds of dry mash, 
allowing the birds to eat all they want. Chicken pox usually attacks 
late-hatched chicks more often and more severely than early-hatched 
ones, which makes it advisable to hatch as early in the season as 
possible. 

SCALY LEG. 

Scaly leg is easily recognized by the enlarged, roughened appearance 
of the feet and legs. It is caused by a little mite which burrows 
beneath the scales and causes the formation of a yellowish, powdery 
substance which keeps raising up the scales until they present an 
unsightly appearance. In severe cases, where the birds are not cared 
for, the joints of the toes become inflamed and make the birds lame 
and sometimes unable to walk. The disease is contagious, although 
it spreads rather slowly. 



Common Poultry Diseases. 



Treatment. — Wash the bird's legs well with soap and warm water 
and remove all loose scales. Rub well with a half-and-half mixture 
of kerosene and linseed oil (melted lard or vaseline may be used in 
place of linseed oil) , or fill a can with the mixture, and after the birds 
have gone to roost at night dip each bird 's legs into it and allow them 
to soak for a minute. Then return the bird to the roost. Repeat 
the treatment every 3 or 4 days until the scales are removed. Oil 
of caraway used in the same manner is also very effective. 

Prevention. — Spray the roosts, dropping boards, and all cracks and 
crevices nearby thoroughly and often so as to keep them free from 
mites. Examine the bird's shanks occasionally and if any signs of 
scaly leg appear rub them well with oil, as described, to prevent the 
disease from developing. 




Fig. 2. — Legs of hen badly affected with "scaly leg." Note the rough, loose appearance of the scales, 
caused by the mites burrowing underneath. 

REMEMBER. 

Remember that it is much easier to keep birds healthy and well 
than to cure them after they are sick. Club members are therefore 
urged to guard against disease by giving their fowls and chicks proper 
care at all times. Keep in mind the following : Lice, mites, filth, poor 
feed, dirty water, damp houses, drafts, and lack of care and attention 
breed disease. Sunlight, fresh air, clean houses and runs, good feed, fresh 
water, and good care and attention mean health, vigor, and profits. 

For information regarding other poultry diseases write to United 
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for Farmers' 
Bulletin 957, "Poultry Diseases," or ask your poultry-club leader to 
obtain a copy for you. 



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